For most people, work is more organizing (your space, your time, your emotions) than doing. The challenge is when you feel like the organizing so overwhelms your chance to focus on doing. I now work for myself, but work with a number of different institutions and people. I have noticed that, while everyone has their own process, most people’s feel derailed when the balance gets skewed. You have a week of deadlines when you put off the maintenance tasks and then someone sends you a nasty email, and, BOOM, stress overwhelms you. I have started setting a meeting with myself at the end of every week. I take about 30 minutes to reflect on the good, bad, and funny. This process has helped me maintain some semblance of order in the face of chaos. A weekly personal check-in can be particularly useful for those pesky emotional feelings that seep out of your workday and into your personal life.
U Can’t Touch That
Visitors want to feel welcome and comfortable in museum spaces. Museums want to keep visitors happy while maintaining collections. These